Starting XI: Wolves vs. Manchester United

Everything that you need to know ahead of Sunday’s match:

(1) In their final home match of the season, Manchester United drew 1-1 with relegated Fulham. Edinson Cavani opened the scoring in the 15th minute with an audacious long-range lob, but the Cottagers struck back with a Joe Bryan equalizer fifteen minutes from time. The result guaranteed Manchester United a second-place finish, though they’re now winless in their last three matches.

(2) Bad news for Manchester United — Scott McTominay and Fred both picked up injuries during the Fulham draw, leaving a gaping hole in midfield for the Reds. Also, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that “it doesn’t look great” when discussing Harry Maguire’s chances of making it back to full health this season.

(3) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on how his team selection for Sunday will be made with one eye on the Europa League final:

Yeah, there’ll be some changes, of course. We have to look after ourselves. We need to get to Poland with loads of energy and good confidence. We need to train well and prepare well, and let’s see what we do on Sunday.

(4) After finishing seventh the past two seasons, Wolves have dropped into the lower half of the Premier League table in 2020/21. Nuno Espirito Santo hopes that the return of fans to Molineux — 4,500 will be in attendance on Sunday — will spur his side to a feel-good finish: “It was a terribly difficult season for everybody, so having things coming back to normal gives us hope for the future. The fans are back and football is good again.”

(5) Raul Jimenez’s ghastly head injury totally derailed Wolves’ season. Without him, Nuno had just 18-year-old Fabio Silva to man the forward position. Silva was purchased from Porto for £35 million as one for the future, but got thrown right into the Premier League fire with Jimenez out. He’s shown signs of improvement of late, with two goals and two assists since April.

(6) As one might expect, goals have been hard to come by without Jimenez. Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto are joint-top scorers for the club with a paltry record of five goals a piece.

(7) Neto suffered a serious knee injury in April and will likely be sidelined for at least six months. Then, earlier this month, Daniel Podence hurt his groin and will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. Wolves cannot catch a break on the injury front.

(8) With the season nearing a disappointing end, Wolves have committed to a youth movement of sorts. In the 2-1 win over Brighton earlier this month, Nuno started five players (Fabio Silva, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Ki-Jana Hoever, Vitinha, and Morgan Gibbs-White) 21 years old or younger — the first time that’s happened in the Premier League since April 2018.

(9) On Friday, Wolves announced that Nuno will be leaving the club this summer after four years in charge. He earned them promotion from the Championship in his first season and leaves Wolves in excellent position to take another step forward in 2021/22.

(10) Raul Jimenez returned to training a few weeks ago and, earlier this week, there was even talk that he might make it back for the season finale on Sunday. After consulting with team doctors, though, Wolves decided to play it safe and hold Jimenez out until the start of next season.

(11) Adama Traore could be a hot name on the transfer market this summer. The 25-year-old winger has reportedly rejected offers of a contract extension with Wolves and will push for a move to a bigger club. Traore’s unusual blend of speed and size should attract plenty of interest from the European elite, with Manchester City, Barcelona, and Juventus all rumored to be monitoring the situation.